Secret Bullicorn, Part Two: (Visually) Quantify Everything

Pop quiz, hotshot: when it comes to numbers, do Bullicorns go for the vague pronouncements, or do they quantify every single statistic that applies to your career/life? Bullicorns know what Jen would say – here’s a refresher on her opinion from Bullish: How Talking About Money Can Make You More Of It.

It’s pretty normal to tell people “I lost 30 pounds!”, “I ran a marathon in four hours and 23 minutes!”, “Only three more credits until I graduate!”, or “I ate 32 hot dogs in 10 minutes and came in third!” That is, a great many accomplishments are based on numbers.

Because of a cultural phobia in talking about money, it’s pretty hard even to proffer a vague announcement: “Hey, I got a raise! I’m pretty happy! I worked hard for it!” It’s even harder to get any credit for, “I increased my income by 30% this year through hard work and clever negotiating!” (I mean, I’ll congratulate you for that.)

Using real numbers allows us to share our accomplishments, as well as to see what other people are up to and set reasonable (or ambitious) goals. Similarly, I think the Internet did a great service to adolescent men who type “average penis size” into Google millions of times per year. Sharing actual numbers allows the majority of men to realize that they are perfectly normal. Numbers give context.

But how do we present all those numbers in a easy-to-read package? Is it even possible to reduce a human being to an aesthetically pleasing series of charts, graphs, and data visualizations? We say: yes. Yes it is.

For our second round of Secret Bullicorn, you’ll send us your professional details (see below). We collect everybody’s info, then we pass on each lady’s info to another lady. When we send you another lady’s details, you have UNTIL MAY 31, 2013 to google your secret bullicorn, online-stalk her a bit, and then email her and ask her a couple of quantifying questions. Use Easel.ly to create a data visualization like I did above. No graphics experience of any kind required! The point of this is not only to meet other bullicorns, but also to learn a pretty cool skill that anyone can pick up in a couple of hours. Then, send it to us. In turn, someone will contact you and do the same for you. All these writeups will go on GetBullish (free publicity for your projects!), and you’ll make an online contact or two.

To enter Secret Bullicorn, email haley@getbullish.com the following information by THURSDAY, MAY 23RD at 5pm.

Name:
Links (Website, Blog, LinkedIn, Twitter, Etc.):
Email:

We’ll match everybody up by Saturday, May 25th. You’ll get in touch with your Secret Bullicorn to ask anything: find out about their jobs, education, preferred caffeinated beverage, whatever you want to know! Send us the data visualization of your Secret Bullicorn by WEDNESDAY, MAY 31.